On Saturday morning, I woke up at 6.30am to offer my services as an extremely amateur make-up artist at a modelling competition. Earlier that week, my teacher had asked me & a couple of other girls in my class to help her do faces at a show, & I was delighted (& totally flattered) to accept. My friend & fellow make-up artistry student Anna & I met up on a street corner, bleary-eyed & nervous, & were escorted to Chadstone by Audrey. What a champ!

Fuelled by V energy drink & Freddo chocolate frogs (cornerstones of any fine breakfast!), we arrived at Chadstone & descended on the management boardroom. Our make-up teacher was already there, looking fabulous, as always. She gave us all a photocopy of the looks we were supposed to do & outlined how to do it. Then the models were sent in, & we started to work!

Caroline, my make-up teacher, on the left.

I have to admit that I had some preconceptions about what the models might be like. I thought it was very possible that they would all be super-tall, super-thin, & maybe a bit snotty. I thought they might speak in single syllables or be rude or just refuse to talk at all. Thankfully, I was completely wrong! The models I made up couldn’t have been sweeter. They were all young (ranging from 14 to 19 years old), really lovely & quite nervous.

Hard at work… or hardly working?

The first girl I worked on recognised me from Cosmopolitan & told me excitedly how much she loved my column. (Awww!) When I asked her about the competition, she said that she didn’t really care about the modelling contract (the major prize up for grabs), but was really excited about the possibility of winning shopping vouchers… !

All of the models I spoke to had never done anything like this before & really didn’t know what to expect. One boy I made up had never worn make-up before, & it was so cute to hear his observations as I moved the brush over his face. “Oh wow, that’s really relaxing, like a little massage!”, he said. He was adorable.

Anna does a face.

When Audrey got bored of being the official paparazzo, he offered his services as a manicurist…

How sweet!

At one o’clock, Audrey, Anna & I scooted over to where the competition was being held. A girl with a huge, awesome afro was the MC & after a bit of the usual “thanks to our sponsors” chat, the models started to come out. They were in groups of three & they had to walk to the end of the runway, look at the judges, pose & walk back. It was interesting to see the variety of confidence & skill. Most of the girls seemed really into it, even the ones who couldn’t walk in the heels they’d been given, but the boys were not as happy to be there! Their walking styles ranged from slightly simian to really robotic to extremely elephantine.

I do my little turn on the catwalk…

I watched the people I’d worked on with the most interest. I really wanted them to win! (In the picture above, I did the make-up on the boy walking & the girl in the yellow shoes.) At one point all the girls were asked to line up for a photo, & I was thrilled to see the two girls I’d made up posing like professionals (hands on hips, elbows pointed back)! They were working it “like the rent was due tonight”, as Jay Alexander says.

The stage cleared so the judges could deliberate. After five minutes of bad DJ’ing, one of the judges came back on stage to announce the winners — one boy & one girl. Imagine my pure delight to see that the winning girl was one whose make-up I’d done!

She is victorious!

I was so happy for her! She was such a sweetie, & when she won, the crowd went crazy! The winners each received a 24-month contract with Cameron’s modelling agency, a pair of jeans & about $3000 worth of shopping vouchers. The stuff dreams are made of.

It was a totally unique experience, & I’m so glad I agreed to do it. It’s really satisfying & cool to see the “fruits of your labour”, as it were, walking down a runway. I felt like a proud mother! It was a long day but absolutely worth it.